Kidney Failure

Question
My bunny may be in possible kidney failure according to my vet he is not officially diagnosed.  We did two urine samples one had a reading of 1010 (whatever that means) the second was done after 23 hours with no water and the reading was then 1016.  The vet said the concentration in the urine did not go up nearly enough.  He wants me to put the bunny on a high protien diet.  I already give him timothy hay I am not sure if the pellets I feed him are alfalfa but I was told to take them away if they are.  Can you give me any more diet tips.  We will monitor his condition for a week or so then do some more testing.

Answer
Hi Victoria -

I'm so sorry to hear that your bunny is sick. I don't have personal experience treating kidney failure, but I did a little digging around.

First, while this site isn't geared toward rabbits, it will give you an idea of what those numbers mean: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_chronic_renal_failure.html#Relavent-Diagnos...

Second, I am a little concerned that your veterinarian is recommending a *high* protein diet, when most prescription diets for renal failure are *low* protein, because protein is very hard on the kidneys.

But instead of me trying to give diet advice, can I recommend you to three discussion groups that may be able to help?

The first two are Yahoo! Groups, one specifically for renal failure in rabbits, the the other for general medical issues:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/cfr-rabbits/

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/etherbun/

The third is a discussion forum with an extensive medical reference section and many, many knowledgeable members who are ready and willing to help:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/

Good luck to you and your bunny!

(all links can be copied and pasted to the address bar of your browser)